The Goon Sax

The Goon Sax are James Harrison, Louis Forster and Riley Jones from Brisbane, Australia. Still in high school when they made their first album Up To Anything in 2016, their brand of awkwardly transcendent teenage guitar pop took them into end of year lists for BBC6, Billboard and Rough Trade, and earned them raves from the Guardian, Pitchfork, Spin, Uncut, Rolling Stone and elsewhere. According to Metacritic, Up To Anything was the 8th best-reviewed debut album anywhere in the world in 2016.
The band headed to Europe and the UK during September school holidays that year, playing to 1500 people in Barcelona, selling out London and Manchester shows and recording sessions for BBC6 and Radio X. In Australia they played summer festivals, supported Teenage Fanclub and US Girls, and were featured on ABC evening news as a Brisbane hometown success story.
The Goon Sax finished high school and returned to UK/Europe in 2017, playing The Great Escape and supporting Whitney. They then turned their focus to album number two, flying to Melbourne to record with James Cecil and Cameron Bird, respectively former/current members of Architecture In Helsinki.
Upcoming album We're Not Talking shows how much can change between the ages of 17 and 19. It's a record that takes the enthusiasms of youth and twists them into darker, more sophisticated shapes. Since the album was recorded, the band have kept busy playing shows with Angel Olsen, Perfume Genius and Protomartyr.
“This is the sound of growing up smart” - Pitchfork
“Classic Brisbane pop” - Uncut
“Like living in a great coming-of-age film” - The Guardian